melvin wrote:
I was had the horrible misfortune of being in a room with about 10 sorority girls when one of them announced she was engaged and showed everyone her ring. I'm a pretty laid back guy, but I seriously thought that I was going to throw up listening to everyone gush about this ring. (no one seemed to care about the upcoming wedding or the actual marriage that she had committed to, only the ring)
Then, and this is even worse, I later heard a couple of the girls totally ripping the newly engaged sister of theirs because the ring looked "cheap" and her fiance must not having been willing to spend enough on her, and etc etc etc.
*sigh
These are women to not marry. Let's say a woman gets married at age 25, and she opts for a $25,000 ring instead of a $5,000 ring (or even less). That's a $20,000 difference. Let's now invest that $20,000 in stocks that will likely return 8% (not guaranteed though) until she is 67 (full retirement age). That $20,000 is now worth $547,332.81. People against investing will say that you're working against inflation and that $547,000 is nothing, but I say it's still something (especially if she leaves it alone for even just a few more years -- by age 70 that money will be $638,408.99), and certainly better than wearing it on your finger all those years earning nothing. Plus, any woman who wants the more expensive and gaudy ring will want more expensive everything else too and will suck any family income dry. Wealth comes not from what is earned but from what is saved. Thank God there are sensible non-high maintenance women out there. These are the best to marry...without question.